Connecticut College Sports Roundup

The Connecticut College men's basketball team lost a quarterfinal game on Saturday, closing out their season as Middlebury College advances. The hockey teams were also defeated. The following information was provided by William Tomasian, sports information director at Connecticut College:

Men's Basketball: Middlebury 61, Conn College 41

Middlebury advanced to the NESCAC Semifinals for the fourth consecutive year after a 61-41 quarterfinal victory over Connecticut College on Saturday at Pepin Gym.

The Panthers advance to next weekend's semifinals at Williams College where they will meet Amherst at 4:00 p.m. The host school will face Trinity at 2:00 p.m., with the championship slated for noon on Sunday.

The Camels season comes to a close. Connecticut College head men's basketball coach Tom Satran was pleased with his young squad's steady improvement that culminated with an appearance in the NESCAC Championship Tournament.

"Middlebury is awfully good and well deserving of their high ranking and expected spot in the NCAA Tournament," Satran said. "I'm proud of our team. To earn the seventh seed in such a competitive conference with a very young team is a good accomplishment and a credit to the character and ability of our players."

The Panthers received solid bench scoring from Joey Kizel and James Jensen, as the duo combined for 20 points on 8-12 shooting. Connecticut College held a small rebounding advantage (40-39), but grabbed 14 offensive boards to the Panthers seven.

With Middlebury's stalwart center Andrew Locke not in the lineup, the Camels attacked the hoop in the early going. Connecticut College had a couple second-chance opportunities on their first possession, eventually grabbing a 4-1 lead on a pair of lay-ups, including one from Taylor Hanson at 17:50. That would be the only lead for the Camels as the Panthers went on a 7-0 spurt over the next 90 seconds, capped by a three by Nolan Thompson at 16:20.

A pair of free throws from Connecticut College's Brian Mahoney shaved the deficit to 10-9 before Middlebury jumped ahead with a 9-0 run on 3-3 shooting from behind the arc. Kizel's pair of threes bookended Jake Wolfin's triple for a 19-9 lead with 12:14 left in the half. Mason Lopez connected on a three for the Camels at 11:24, but the Panthers responded with a methodical 11-4 run over the next seven minutes, building a 30-16 lead with 4:17 remaining before intermission. Matt Vadas hit the Camels final three of the game at 1:59, cutting the Panther advantage to 32-20 before Middlebury ended the half on a 4-0 burst and a 36-20 lead at the break.

Ryan Sharry opened the second half with a bucket for the Panthers prior to a 6-0 dash by Connecticut College, setting the score at 38-26 with 17:42 to play. The Camels could not break the double-digit barrier over the next 10 minutes of play, as they watched the deficit balloon to 23 points on a three from Kizel with 7:55 left in the game. During that time span, Connecticut College went 2-10 from the field, while committing five turnovers. T

he Panther lead hovered around the 20-point margin for the reminder of the game. Kizel paced Middlebury with 13 points off the bench on 5-8 shooting, including 3-3 marksmanship from behind the arc, while Nolan Thompson added 11 and Wolfin chipped in 10 points, and game-highs with seven assists and four steals. Hanson led Connecticut College with a game-high 18 points, highlighted by 10-11 shooting from the free throw line.

Men's Ice Hockey: Saint Michael's College 4, Conn College 1

The Saint Michael's College men's hockey team (10-14-1, 6-12-1 ECAC East) used three goals in the third period to skate past Connecticut College (7-13-3, 6-11-1 NESCAC) 4-1 on Senior Day at Cairns Arena on Saturday.

All seven skating seniors tallied at least one point in their final regular season home game and helped the Purple Knights finish with 10 regular season wins. For the Purple Knights, freshman Nic McIntyre (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec/Kent School) delivered the game-winner early in the third period, and Higgins had a multiple-point night with a goal and an assist. Rimmer carried the team on his back by stopping 24-of-25 shots and holding the Camels scoreless for over two periods of play.

The Camels broke a defensive deadlock late in the first period when freshman Mike Sinsigalli (Wilton, Conn./Taft School) managed to hold for a one-handed, off-balance goal despite hard contact in front of the crease. The Purple Knights would even things up in the fifth minute of the second frame on a rebound tally by sophomore Alex Davidson (South Burlington, Vt./St. Paul's School). Belmore fired a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that was saved, gathered by sophomore Michael Jangro (Reading, Mass./Valley Warriors), and flushed by Davidson who was crashing hard from the left side.

McIntyre netted the deciding goal just over a minute into the third period. MacKinnon held the puck behind the net, biding his time just long enough to find McIntyre for the one-touch wrist shot at the right circle. A five-minute Camels penalty gave the Purple Knights a chance for some insurance in the final minute, and Rigtrup took advantage with a blazing wrist shot, using LaBelle-Hamer's screen to beat Connecticut's freshman goalie Mike Petchonka (Ridgefield, Conn./Taft School) on the left side. Higgins added a buzzer-beating goal for good measure, beating two defenders down the left wing and depositing a forehand shot as time expired. Rimmer made 25 saves in his third win of the season for Saint Michael's, while Petchonka stopped 37 shots for the Camels.

Women's Ice Hockey: Trinity 4, Conn College 2

Laura Komarek (Plymouth, Minn.) scored a goal and assisted on another to lead the Trinity College women's hockey team to their sixth straight win in a 4-2 triumph at Connecticut College Saturday.

The Bantams, ranked #8 in the latest USCHO Division III Poll, improve to 17-3-4 and close out the regular season with a 10-3-3 mark in the NESCAC. Trinity finished third in the league standings and will host Hamilton College for a NESCAC Quarterfinal game in Hartford Feb 26.

The Camels close out the regular season with a record of 12-10-2 and are 8-7-1 in league play. Connecticut College is seeded fifth in the Championship and will visit fourth seeded Bowdoin for a 4:00 p.m. game on the 26th.

Olivia Farrell (New York, N.Y.) tallied a goal and an assist for the Camels. Paige Murray (Andover, Mass.) chipped in with her second goal of the season for Connecticut College.

With 13:19 remaining in regulation, the Bantams took a 3-2 lead when Lauren Glynn (Arlington, Mass.) stuffed home a rebound on a Komarek slap shot from the point. Hillary McNamara (Milton, Mass.) earned the second assist.

The Camels emptied their net with 3:28 remaining in regulation but could not score the equalizer and Kim Weiss (Potomac, Md.) added an empty netter with 1:14 left when the puck deflected off of her stick on a face off and found the open goal. It was her team leading 22nd goal of the season.

Rookie net-minder Alexa Pujol (New Canaan, Conn.) stopped 19 shots in the victory for the Bantams. Amy Leichliter (West Chester, Pa.) made 24 saves for the hosts.

The Camels vaulted out to a 1-0 lead with 13:17 left in the first period. Murray fired a low shot from the left point for the score. Ariel DiPasquale (Whitestone, N.Y.) Farrell assisted on the marker.

The visitors responded with eight minutes remaining in the first when Celia Colman McGaw (Manchester, Conn.) skated in from the blue line and went to her backhand for a score from the left circle.

In the middle period, the Bantams grabbed a 2-1 edge after Komarek followed her own shot and tipped in a rebound from her backhand 3:17 into the frame. However, the Camels tied things up at two with 3:50 to play in the second. Farrell collected a rebound in traffic and found the back of the net for the fifth goal and 21st points of her rookie season.

Indoor Track

The Connecticut College men's and women track and field teams competed in their New England Division III Championships at two different locations in the Bay State Saturday.

At Springfield College, freshman Mike LeDuc (Canton, Conn.) posted a time of 15:18.31 en route to a third place scoring in the 5k.

In the distance medley relay, the Camel foursome comprised of Tristan Cole (St. Helen, Calif.), Tommy Howd (Sudbury, Mass.), Matt Boudreau (Bridgewater, Mass.) and Andrew Duarte (Rocky Hill, Conn.) placed sixth with a time of 10:38.07.

Duarte added a ninth place finish in the mile with a time of 4:24.61.

The five Camels that scored points are all recognized as All-New England Division III performers.

Meanwhile, the women's action was taking place at the other end of the Massachusetts Turnpike at MIT.

Sophomore Sarah Matthews (Westwood, Mass.) set a school record in the 600 meter dash with a time of 1:41.35. The previous mark of 1:42.14 was held by Meredith Stebbins '05, who set the record in her senior season.

Senior Kelsey Taylor (East Hampton, Conn.) finished ninth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:24.35.

In the 4-by-400 meter relay, the Camel foursome comprised of Haley Goodwill (Marlborough, Conn.), Michelle Wesley (Millwood, N.Y.), Ali Holland (Watertown, Mass.) and Matthews finished in 10th place with a time of 4:14.90.